


Just Me and My Mum

by AchillesMonkey



Series: Child Fitz Fics [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Britpicked to the best of my ability, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Gen, Hand-Flapping, Kid Fic, Leo Fitz Feels, Leo Fitz loves monkeys, Leo Fitz's Father speculation, Mother-Son Relationship, Stimming, interesting monkey facts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 12:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9490811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchillesMonkey/pseuds/AchillesMonkey
Summary: "Please list your immediate family.""Just me and my mum."Five-year-old Leopold wants to know about his Da.





	

Leopold Fitz was five-years-old and a very clever boy. He knew how to read and write and could solve maths problems just by looking at them. He knew that when someone smiled, it meant they were happy, and that when someone cried, it meant they were sad. Sometimes Mummy cried when she was happy, and Leopold thought that was very confusing.

There were other things that Leopold found confusing. How did the microwave work? Why wouldn’t Mummy let him get a pet monkey? Why did the kids at school care more about playing Transformers than the interesting monkey facts he tried to share with them? Why did Leopold live with his Mummy and Nana and not his Mummy and Da?

He was quiet as he walked home from the park, holding his Nana’s hand. They were going to go home, have tea, and then he would play with his toys before it was time for bath and bed. That was their routine.

A man with red hair and a neatly trimmed beard, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase hurried past them as Leopold and Nana made their way slowly down the pavement toward their flat. Leo turned to watch as the man joined the queue for the bus.

“Come now, Leopold,” Nana said, tugging his hand a little, “almost home.”

They entered their flat and Leo went straight to the kitchen, fully expecting to see his Mummy cooking their tea, but the kitchen was empty. He flapped his hands anxiously as he went to find Nana. “Mummy’s not in the kitchen.”

“She had to work late tonight, Leo.” Nana told him. “Remember? We talked about it at breakfast.”

Leo flapped his hands harder as he thought back. He did vaguely remember Mummy saying something about not being there for tea tonight. “Mummy’s not in the kitchen,” he repeated.

“No, Mummy’s at work,” Nana said. “Would you like cheese toasties for tea?”

Leo nodded and followed Nana into the kitchen. He sat at the table and chewed on his fingers while he watched her prepare the sandwiches.

“You’re being awfully quiet tonight, Leo,” Nana commented as she put the toasties on plates and brought them to the table. “Don’t you have any interesting monkey facts to tell me?”

Leopold had plenty of interesting monkey facts for his Nana. She probably didn’t know that Capuchin monkeys use tools or that baby silvered leaf monkeys have orange fur. But Leopold also had other thoughts on his mind. “Why don’t I have a Da?”

Nana turned to look at him and Leo watched as the milk she was pouring into a cup spilled over the edges. “Oh, dear,” Nana said, turning to see the milk on the counter. She grabbed a rag to clean up the mess. “Everyone has a Da, Leopold,” she said, handing him the glass of milk after she’d wiped it off and poured some of the excess milk back into the carton.

“I don’t. I just have Mummy and Nana.”

“Well, you also have a Da, somewhere. He just doesn’t live with us.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know, Leo.”

“Why doesn’t he live with us?”

“I don’t know, love. That’s a question to ask your Mummy.”

~*~*~*~

Leopold was in the middle of building a rocket out of Lego when Mummy came home. He immediately abandoned the little pieces and ran to hug her. “Mummy!”

“Hi, darling!” she cried, hugging him tightly. “Did you have a good day?” He nodded, and squeezed her tighter, not wanting to let go. “I’m sorry I wasn’t home for tea,” she told him, one hand stroking his curls.

“Love you, Mummy.”

“I love you too, darling.”

~*~*~*~

Later, in bed, Leo snuggled into Mummy’s side, listening as she read _Curious George Gets a Medal_. His own monkey, Henry, was in his arms, and he absently chewed the monkey’s ears while he listened.

“It was the happiest day in George’s life. The end.” Mummy finished reading and closed the book.

Leo stopped chewing on Henry’s ears. “Mummy?”

“Yes, Leo?”

“Is the man with the yellow hat George’s Da?”

“Well, sort of,” Mummy answered. “He acts like a Da, doesn’t he?”

Leo nodded. “Mummy?”

“Yes, Leo?”

“Where’s my Da?”

He heard Mummy take a sharp breath and looked up. There was an expression on Mummy’s face that Leopold found confusing. She wasn’t smiling, so she wasn’t happy. She wasn’t crying, so she wasn’t sad. She looked . . . Leopold didn’t have a name for it. He reached up to touch her cheek. “Mummy?”

“I knew you would start asking questions one of these days,” Mummy said softly. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him. Leo squirmed until he could rest his head against her breast and listen to her heartbeat. Hearing that helped make the weird feeling inside him go away. “I don’t know where your Da is, Leo. He—he doesn’t want to be found.”

“Why not?”

“Your Da—he wasn’t ready to be a Da. But I was ready to be a Mummy. I love being your Mummy, Leo. I love you so much.”

“When will he be ready?”

“I don’t know, Leo.”

“I wish he was ready now.” Leo felt tears form in his eyes and he began to cry. He was sad.

“So do I, love.” Mummy sounded sad. She hugged him tightly, rocking slightly as he cried in her arms. He cried for the Da he didn’t have. He felt some tears fall on his head and knew Mummy was crying too.

When they were done crying, Mummy pulled tissue out of her pocket and wiped Leo’s face for him. She placed the tissue on his bedside table and then picked Leo up under his arms, moving him so that they were sitting facing each other.

“I’m going to tell you something very important, Leopold,” Mummy said, her tone firm. “So I need you to pay attention and listen to what I’m saying. Okay?”

“Okay,” Leo answered, staring at the green stone of her necklace.

“I love you, Leopold. You are my son. I am your Mummy. And even if your Da is never ready to be a Da, I will always be your Mummy. No matter what. You will always be my baby, Leopold. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Mummy opened her arms and he crawled into her lap, resting his head against her breast, and sticking his fingers into his mouth. It was just Leo and Mummy, and that was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, and thanks to those who leave kudos/comments!


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